


Convincing

by chronicAngel



Category: Naruto
Genre: Confessions, Fix-It, Gen, POV Third Person, Talking, Team, pure self-indulgence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-11 19:11:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13530753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chronicAngel/pseuds/chronicAngel
Summary: "You can't seriously be thinking about leaving the village with that creep! He's practically a vampire!"





	Convincing

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is pure self-indulgence, and doesn't take place within the canon Narutoverse, or any of my fanfiction series. I was just Feeling Sad about Sasuke and SasuSaku.

The invitation from the Sound Four still rings in his ears after he's slept on it. On the one hand, he knows that Orochimaru can provide him with power he can seldom imagine and teach him jutsu that the people of Konoha have locked away and long chosen to forget about; on the other hand, as much as he hates to admit it, his team has grown into a sort of family for him, and imagining giving up that family when he's been working so hard to avenge the one he lost years ago feels like spitting in the face of the bonds he's begrudgingly formed. He keeps picturing the expression on the idiot's face were he to leave and internally wincing, and he doesn't even let his mind drift to how much pain Sakura would be in if he were to desert the village.

Still, he has no idea what he thinks he's doing when he knocks on the door of the Haruno household at four in the morning to tell Haruno Mebuki, who is still wrapped tightly in a yukata and glares at him from the moment the door opens, that they have an early mission to go on and he's here to pick up Sakura. It's an obvious lie for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he has never once picked up Sakura, even for missions that started much earlier in the morning, or because their sensei is notoriously  _not_ an early person and he's sure that she complains to her parents about it as much as he complains about it to Kichi. She doesn't call him out on it though, telling him to stay right there while she goes to retrieve her daughter from her room upstairs.

He doesn't have to wait very long for her. He supposes that the second her mother wakes her, she is on her way down, because he hears a very loud screech of _What_ and then thumping footsteps down the stairs, which he is still staring at in mild fascination. His house doesn't have stairs and has been the home of large families for a long time, so the thought that the Harunos' house, which houses only three, has them is strange to him. She wears nothing but a too-big shirt that looks like it could have belonged to her father once and eventually must notice because she rushes back to her room. When she returns minutes later, she's wearing her usual attire and rushes out to meet him.

"Sasuke-kun," she says when they're a block from her home, a questioning note there. He hums, glancing over at her. "Why did you come get me?"

Before she can rush to explain that she didn't mean it like _that_ and that of course she's happy to see him like he's sure she's about to, he says, "I needed to talk." She gasps in what he thinks is delight and straightens, beaming at him. "To both of you," he eventually adds almost guiltily as he stops in front of the door to Naruto's apartment. He's never been here, only hearing about how much of a mess it is from Kakashi and only sure he's in the right place at all because of the Uzumaki clan symbol on the door.

In contrast to Sakura, who woke quickly and took only minutes to begin walking with him, it takes Naruto almost fifteen just to get out of bed, and he and Sakura have to break in first. (He wonders if it counts as breaking in, really, since the idiot keeps his window unlocked.)

He did not picture this conversation in his head beforehand, but if he had, he's sure he would not have pictured how it is going now. Naruto still wears his pajamas, seal hat tugged down over his ears and messy blond hair, heating instant ramen up in his microwave without having brushed his teeth while insisting that if they're going to have some sort of team meeting without Kakashi at quarter past four in the morning he's going to need breakfast. Sakura wears her usual red qipao with the circles that he's slowly learning to associate with the Haruno family (he's not sure if there _is_ a Haruno clan, but her mother wears a similar design with inverse colors) and black shorts, squinting at her surroundings as though she can't quite see them, which wouldn't particularly surprise Sasuke as all of the lights are still off. They sit in Naruto's kitchen, her bare feet tucked up under herself for warmth on the wooden chair with her knees pressing close to her chest while he simply sits on the floor next to her.

"Okay," Naruto finally says, sitting on the counter with chopsticks and a cup of ramen in hand. Sakura is in the only chair at his table, and Sasuke tries hard not to focus on the admittedly sad implications of this. "What was so important that you had to wake us up at four in the morning to talk about? I was having a good dream and I want to get back to sleep as soon as possible, teme, believe it!" He thinks he feels his eye twitch at the familiar tic. At the same time, it's so inherently Naruto that he almost finds it strangely comforting, not that he would ever admit that to either of the people at his sides.

"Tch, you should be happy I came here at all..." He says after a minute, but the retort doesn't have as much bite as they usually do. Naruto still scowls as he slurps on his ramen, but Sakura must catch it, because her expression shifts into a softer one.

He has been doubting his decision to talk to the two of them about the Sound Four's offer since he left the compound, a voice in the back of his head screaming that it's none of their _business_ , which feels distinctly similar to the voice that has been telling him that he should just leave Konoha. It's an easy voice to fight back as he sits on the floor with his back against Sakura's chair, watching his idiot best friend absorb ramen and feeling Sakura run her fingers through his hair while pretending he doesn't notice.

He stays quiet as he rethinks the decision anyway, and to his shock, they both stay silent to allow him that time. He imagines it's the icy glare that he can feel Sakura shooting at Naruto over his head, but the idiot even respectfully quiets down his eating.

"Orochimaru contacted me," he starts, staring pointedly at the hardwood floor in front of his feet as opposed to his teammates. Naruto chokes and Sakura does something with her breathing that comes across as completely horrified and panicked, fingers stilling against his scalp. "He made me an offer... To leave and study under him."

"You can't seriously be thinking about leaving the village with that creep! He's practically a vampire!"

Naruto lets out a loud cry of pain when Sakura, somewhat mindful of his neighbors, whisper-yells his name and grinds her fist down into the top of his head. He refuses to admit to himself that his heart swells at the scene, another painful reminder that if he did accept the offer he'd be giving up this family in favor of gaining power, but his lips do quirk at the corners. When she stops, Naruto hops off the counter and begins pacing in his kitchen while counting off points on his fingers, "Uh, he's totally creepy," he says, sticking out his pinky. "He's practically immortal, or at least he's trying to be. He's super pale. He has a loyal assistant who does everything for him. _He bites people_ ," he sounds particularly indignant at this, gesturing to the dark mark on Sasuke's shoulder, "and have either of _you_ seen him in the sun?"

He groans and smacks his palm against his forehead, holding his face there and squeezing his eyes shut as Sakura returns to her seat behind him.

"I never said I was considering it." _I am, though_ , he thinks, hoping his grimace will come across as one of his usual moody expressions. He has no reason to lie about this to them, sure that they'll provide him with plenty of reasons not to go through with it whether or not he says that he's been thinking about it, but he feels... _guilty_ , he realizes, and he has to actively stop himself from crinkling his nose at the thought. He stands at the same moment that Naruto finally pushes himself back onto the counter (though the blond boy doesn't move to pick up his ramen cup) and says instead, "It's the fastest way to get revenge against..." He shifts his eyes between them and cuts himself off.

They know about Itachi, but acknowledging out loud that they know is something he has refused to do so far. It's not a strictly forbidden topic of conversation, but even Naruto has been smart enough not to bring it up with him so far, and starting now, when he is already addressing something so big, feels like a bad decision. When he looks between their faces, he supposes the implication behind the sentence is still too close to the truth; that he is thinking about it.

Naruto has gone pale, arms crossed over his chest but face completely open. His jaw is slack and his bright blue eyes have gone wide. Sakura looks like she's about to be sick, one hand rising to cover her mouth while the other looks caught in the air between clutching her chest or reaching out to him.

The idiot is the first one to come unfrozen, face twisting up in what Sasuke imagines is disgust, and he jumps off of the counter and throws a fist in Sasuke's face before he has time to react. He expects more punches, stumbling backward and clutching at his nose, which has already begun bleeding, but none come. Naruto stands across from him, shaking and glaring at him. "You can't say shit like that!" He finally explodes, not showing the same mindfulness for his sleeping neighbors as their teammate did earlier. "You'd be a missing-nin! And you'd... you'd probably be forced to be the next body for that creep!"

"Are you really thinking about leaving?" Sakura whispers, and Sasuke can barely hear her even as Naruto completely cuts himself off.

He finds that refusing to imagine how much pain she would be in if he left was the best course of action. The pure hurt in her expression makes even his heart seize up, and when they make eye contact, he can't force himself to tear his gaze away when he sees the distinct wetness to her eyes. They're so impossibly wide that he imagines the he could look anywhere else in the room and it would still be that bright green. He doesn't test it, simply staring at her while his brain urges him to at least say _something_ , standing there with his teeth clenched is only gonna make him look like the idiot across from him who's now trying and failing to comfort her. He can't think for a full minute until he _finally_ pulls his eyes away and shoves his hands in his pockets. "I... was," he answers noncommittally.

"You can't!" She cries, and finally throws herself forward. "I--" She starts, her arms wrapped tightly around him, but she seems to reconsider whatever she was going to say as she remembers that Naruto is still in the room with them. He imagines she was as captivated by his eyes as he was hers. "We need you here..."

He doesn't shoulder her off like he often does, but doesn't return her embrace, staring at her like she is something he can't quite believe. Naruto isn't scowling when Sasuke looks at him, which goes against expectation, but watching the two of them like he isn't quite sure _how_ to respond.

"...Okay," he mutters eventually, only half sure of what he's saying.


End file.
